101 Gourmet Cupcake Cookbook *review AND giveaway!* CLOSED

I had the opportunity to review a wonderful cookbook called 101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 minutes by Wendy Paul. I was very excited to do this review because I REALLY love to cook and I REALLY love sweets. So, naturally, this cook book was a perfect fit for me.

I immediately sat down with my kids to look at every page of the cookbook as soon as we received it in the mail. The pictures looked so delicious and made us very eager to start cooking. The design of the cookbook is really cute and the layout is really easy to read.

Wendy Paul starts out her cookbook telling us how she got her idea for this cookbook. She says,

"I have always loved spending time in the kitchen, creating new and delicious recipes. Many friends and family members call me and ask for recipes, so I decided to write them down and make a cookbook. Cupcakes are a perfect dessert, party them, gift, get well favor, or "just because I love you" treat. So my idea is thinking outside the box. Why not make a special cupcake with the convenience of using a cake mix? I know what you're thinking: "Will it taste homemade?" You bet!

By using the recipes and time-saving ideas in this book, your cupcakes will look and taste like you slaved away the entire afternoon creating these little masterpieces. Go ahead and dust your face with a little flour to get the recognition you deserve. I won't say a word. Your family and friends will thank you for the wonderful creation you have hand made and home baked. Enjoy the cupcake walk.

-Wendy L. Paul

Upon reading this letter from Wendy, I decided to put the above question to the test. Will it taste homemade? Guess what I found.

You bet!

Her cookbook is set up in different categories. Fabulous & Fruity, The Sweetness of Chocolate, Holiday Treat and Theme decorating. Every section is made up of lots of really delicious sounding recipes. Each recipe also comes with its own Frosting selection idea and you can find the frosting recipes at the end of the book. Personally, I would have loved to go right to the section of the sweetness of chocolate, but I knew that my husband would love the Fabulous and fruity so I decided to chose a few different recipes to make. The three we chose to make were:

1. Banana Cream Pie

2. Melting surprise

3. Strawberry Cheesecake

I love that all of these recipes are made using a cake mix. That makes it so much easier and quicker. I started first with the Banana Cream Pie recipe because I had all of the ingredients on hand. With this recipe you use a yellow cake mix, and a box of banana pudding (plus other stuff). I was amazed how amazing this tasted with adding the banana pudding mix. It really tasted like a banana cream pie. It was so easy to make, looked delicious and tasted fabulous. It definitely tasted homemade. I also made the suggested whipped cream to top the cupcakes with. I decided to turn my whipped cream pink. Here is a picture of the final product:

Because of the pink frosting it doesn't look very bananaish.... but believe me... It tasted delicious! Here is a picture with the bananas on it from her cookbook.

Yes. It does taste as good as it looks!!

The second one that we decided to make was the melting surprise. This one was excellent. We served it warm with whipped cream and it was amazing. This one is made with a chocolate cake mix as well as other easy ingredients that we had on hand. The Melting Surprise is described as a take on the chocolate molten cake. It was very fun to have our own little cupcakes that when you put your fork into it, you got a delicious melting surprise. Did this taste homemade? Definitely. It was a huge hit in our home! Unfortunately, these cupcakes went too fast that I wasn't able to get a picture of them! You'll have to take my word for it. They are as good as they sound.

The third cupcake we tried was the Strawberry Cheesecake. I love it when she says in the title, "Cheesecake, yummy cheesecake! Whenever I can choose my dessert, I pick cheesecake every time!" We are big cheesecake lovers in our home, so this one was perfect for our family! It was made using a white cake mix. I think that out of all three, this one was my favorite that I tried. It was delicious and tasted very gourmet and homemade! In making this cupcake, you make a small cavity in the center of each cupcake and you fill the hole with a yummy cheesecake cream filling! It was so yummy! We topped ours with extra filling and strawberries! YUMMY!!

I am very excited to try many more cupcakes down the road. We have marked lots of different ones that we want to try. This cupcake book is so nice because it allows a hobby baker like myself, to be able to make gourmet looking desserts with ease! I had almost all of the ingredients on hand which always is another plus! I highly recommend this cookbook. If you love sweets like I do, then this cookbook is for you!!

Want to buy this cookbook? You can find it HERE. I promise, you won't regret it!!

Want to WIN this cookbook? I know, I know.... NOW I'm talking!!! One lucky MomsReview4You reader will win their own copy of 101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 minutes!!

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